Fabric frame for a maneuverable sewing machine

ABSTRACT

Fabric frame for a maneuverable sewing machine. In one example embodiment, a fabric frame for a maneuverable sewing machine includes a left side rail, a right side rail, a front rail permanently connected to the left side and right side rails, and a rear rail detachably connectable to the left side and right side rails. The left side, right side, front, and rear rails define left side, right side, front, and rear boundaries, respectively, of a working area. The left side, right side, front, and rear rails are configured to support one or more layers of fabric that flow from inside the boundaries of the working area to outside the left side, right side, front, and rear boundaries of the working area.

FIELD

The embodiments disclosed herein relate to a fabric frame for amaneuverable sewing machine.

BACKGROUND

Sewing machines generally function by reciprocating a threaded needleinto and out of one or more layers of fabric to form a row of stitchesin the fabric. While some sewing machines are operated in a stationaryfashion while the fabric is repositioned underneath the needle, othersewing machines are operated in a maneuverable fashion by repositioningthe needle while the fabric remains stationary. When operated in thismaneuverable fashion, the fabric is typically mounted on a fabric frame.

One difficulty encountered with fabric frames for maneuverable sewingmachines is maintaining an adequate tension on the fabric duringoperation of the sewing machine. Where the tension on the fabric isinadequate, it can be difficult to form even and precisely positionedrows of stiches using the maneuverable sewing machine.

Another difficulty encountered with fabric frames for maneuverablesewing machines is accommodating fabric that is relatively large in aroom that is relatively small. For example, maneuverable sewing machinesare often used in making quilts. A quilt for a California king size bedmay be about 8.2 feet wide by about 8.5 feet long. Many fabric framesused in making quilts are designed to have a width that is at least aswide as the width of the fabric of the quilt. Therefore, a fabric frameused to make this quilt for a California king size bed would be at least8.2 feet wide, which would require a relatively large room toaccommodate the fabric frame.

Yet another difficulty encountered with fabric frames for maneuverablesewing machines is the relatively high cost of the fabric frames thatresults from the relatively complexity of the fabric frames. Forexample, many fabric frames used in making quilts are designed withspools on which the one or more layers of fabric are spooled prior tooperation of the maneuverable sewing machines. In order to maintainaddequate tension on the layers of fabric, the spools have lockingmechanisms that prevent the fabric from unspooling from the spools.These spools and locking mechanisms add to the cost and complexity ofthese fabric frames.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments thatsolve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such asthose described above. Rather, this background is only provided toillustrate one example technology area where some embodiments describedherein may be practiced.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments described herein relate to a fabricframe for a maneuverable sewing machine. The example fabric framedisclosed herein may be configured to maintain an adequate tension onone or more layers of fabric that are mounted on the fabric frame toenable formation of even and precisely positioned rows of stiches usingthe maneuverable sewing machine. Also, the example fabric framedisclosed herein may be configured to accommodate fabric that isrelatively large, such as fabric for a relatively large quilt, in a roomthat is relatively small, due to the fabric frame being configured toaccommodate fabric that is wider than the width of the fabric frame.Further, the example fabric frame disclosed herein may be relativelyinexpensive to manufacture due to the relative simplicity of the fabricframe.

In one example embodiment, a fabric frame for a maneuverable sewingmachine includes a left side rail, a right side rail, a front railpermanently connected to the left side and right side rails, and a rearrail detachably connectable to the left side and right side rails. Theleft side, right side, front, and rear rails define left side, rightside, front, and rear boundaries, respectively, of a working area. Theleft side, right side, front, and rear rails are configured to supportone or more layers of fabric that flow from inside the boundaries of theworking area to outside the left side, right side, front, and rearboundaries of the working area.

In another example embodiment, a fabric frame for a maneuverable sewingmachine includes a left side rail, a right side rail, a front railconnected to the left side and right side fixed rails, and a rear railconnected to the left side and right side fixed rails. The left side,right side, front, and rear rails define left side, right side, front,and rear boundaries, respectively, of a working area. The left side,right side, and front rails are configured to support one or more layersof fabric that flow over upper surfaces of the left side, right side,and front rails from inside the boundaries of the working area tooutside the left side, right side, and front boundaries of the workingarea. The rear rail is configured to support the one or more layers offabric that flow underneath the rear rail from inside the boundaries ofthe working area to outside the rear boundary of the working area.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1A is a front top perspective view of an example fabric frame for amaneuverable sewing machine;

FIG. 1B is a front top perspective view of the example fabric frame ofFIG. 1A with fabric mounted thereon;

FIG. 2A is a front top perspective view of an example clamp of theexample fabric frame of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a front top exploded perspective view of the example clamp ofFIG. 2A; and

FIG. 2C is a front top perspective view of the example clamp of FIG. 2Awith a cutaway portion of the fabric of FIG. 1B clamped therein.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is a front top perspective view of an example fabric frame 100for a maneuverable sewing machine 150 and FIG. 1B is a front topperspective view of the example fabric frame 100 with fabric 180 mountedthereon.

The sewing machine 150 of FIGS. 1A and 1B is specialized for quiltingand is known as a long-arm quilting machine. Some features of a long-armquilting machine that distinguish it from other types of sewing machinesis the “long-arm” configuration of the machine, handlebars (such as thehandlebars 158 and 160 discussed below), and a hopping foot (such as thehopping foot 162 discussed below). Quilting typically involves stitchingtogether multiple layers of fabric to form a quilt. A quilt typicallyincludes a layer of batting sandwiched in between upper and lower layersof fabric. However, although the example sewing machine 150 of FIGS. 1Aand 1B is a long-arm quilting machine, it is understood that the sewingmachine 150 of FIGS. 1A and 1B is only one of countless sewing machinesin which the example fabric frame 100 may be employed. The scope of theexample fabric frame 100 is therefore not intended to be limited toemployment in any particular sewing machine.

As disclosed in FIG. 1A, the fabric frame 100 may include a left siderail 102, a right side rail 104, a front rail 106, and a rear rail 108,which may each have a smooth, cylindrical outer surface. The front rail106 may be permanently connected to the left side rail 102 and to theright side rail 104, and each of the left side rail 102, right side rail104, and front rail 106 may be fixed in place and not configured torotate. In contrast, the rear rail 108 may be detachably connectable tothe left side rail 102 and to the right side rail 104 by, for example,clamping the rear rail 108 in a clamp 200 permanently connected to theleft side rail 102 and in another clamp 200 permanently connected to theright side rail 104.

The left side rail 102, the right side rail 104, the front rail 106, andthe rear rail 108 define a left side boundary 110, a right side boundary112, a front boundary 114, and a rear boundary 116, respectively, of aworking area 118 for the sewing machine 150. Further, the fabric frame100 may be supported above a table 152 by only a single left side riser120, which connects the table 152 to the left side rail 102, and only asingle right side riser 122, which connects the table 152 to the rightside rail 104. The table 152 may also support a carriage assembly 154 towhich the sewing machine 150 may be mounted. The carriage assembly 154may be configured to allow a user to maneuver the sewing machine 150both laterally (i.e., along the x axis) and longitudinally (i.e., alongthe z axis) with respect to the working area 118 of the fabric frame100.

As disclosed in FIG. 1B, the fabric frame 100 may be configured tosupport one or more layers of fabric 180. Unlike other fabric framesthat require the width of the fabric frame to be at least as wide as thewidth of the fabric, the fabric frame 100 may be configured to supportfabric 180 that is wider than the width of the fabric frame 100. Inparticular, the left side rail 102, the right side rail 104, the frontrail 106, and the rear rail 108 are configured to support the fabric 180in such a way that the fabric 180 may flow from inside of the boundaries110-116 of the working area 118 to outside of the boundaries 110-116 ofthe working area 118. In particular, the fabric 180 may flow over uppersurfaces of the left side rail 102 (see FIG. 1A), the right side rail104 (see cutaway section in FIG. 1B), and the front rail 106 (seecutaway section in FIG. 1B) from inside the boundaries 110-116 of theworking area 118 to outside the left side boundary 110, the right sideboundary 112, and the front boundary 114 of the working area 118. At thesame time, the rear rail 108 may be configured to support the fabric 180that may flow underneath the rear rail 108 from inside the boundaries110-116 of the working area 118 to outside the rear boundary 116 of theworking area 118. The flowing of the fabric 180 underneath the rear rail108, even where the fabric 180 is wider than the fabric frame 100, maybe possible due to the detachability of the rear rail 108 from the leftside rail 102 and the right side rail 104, which detachability may beenabled by the clamps 200, which will now be discussed with reference toFIGS. 2A-2C.

FIG. 2A is a front top perspective view of the example clamp 200 of theexample fabric frame 100, FIG. 2B is a front top exploded perspectiveview of the example clamp 200, and FIG. 2C is a front top perspectiveview of the example clamp of FIG. 2A with a cutaway portion of thefabric 180 clamped therein.

As disclosed in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the example clamp 200 includes a firstarm 202, a second arm 204, and a cam 206. The first arm 202 includes afirst clamping surface 208 and a first lever surface 210 and the secondarm 204 includes a second clamping surface 212 and a second leversurface 214. The cam 206, which may be configured as a knob, ispositioned between the first lever surface 210 and the second leversurface 214.

The cam 206 is configured to be rotated against the first lever surface210 and the second lever surface 214 in a first rotational direction(e.g., a clockwise direction) to cause the first lever surface 210 andthe second lever surface 214 to move apart from one another, whichcauses the first clamping surface 208 and the second clamping surface212 to move toward one another. The cam 206 is also configured to berotated against the first lever surface 210 and the second lever surface214 in a second rotational direction (e.g., a counterclockwisedirection) to allow the first lever surface 210 and the second leversurface 214 to move toward one another, which allows the first clampingsurface 208 and the second clamping surface 212 to move apart from oneanother. As disclosed in FIG. 2B, the first clamping surface 208 and thesecond clamping surface 212 may be curved. This curvature may generallymatch the curvature of the rear rail 108 in order to enable the firstclamping surface 208 and the second clamping surface 212 to clamp ontothe rear rail 108, as disclosed in FIG. 2A, or to clamp onto the fabric180 after the fabric 180 has been wrapped around the rear rail 108, asdisclosed in FIG. 2C.

As disclosed in FIG. 2B, the cam 206 may be a stepped cam that includesmultiple stepped surfaces 220, 222, and 224. Each of the steppedsurfaces 220-224 may be indexed to one of multiple distinct distancesbetween the first clamping surface 208 and the second clamping surface212, which may enable multiple distinct thicknesses of the one or morelayers of fabric to be wrapped around the rear rail 108 and to besecurely clamped in the clamp 200. The stepped surfaces 220-224 mayfurther be formed as non-slip surfaces that allow the cam 206 to bemanually rotated while preventing the cam 206 from inadvertentlyrotating absent manual rotation. The cam 206 may further include a firsthandle 226 and a second handle 228.

The first arm 202 and the second arm 204 of the clamp 200 may beintegrally formed with one another. The first lever surface 210 and thesecond lever surface 214 may be biased against the cam 206 due to thefirst lever surface 210 and the second lever surface 214 beingintegrally formed apart from one another at a distance that is smallerthan a maximum diameter of the cam 206.

The second arm 204 may include a frame mount 216 that is configured tobe permanently connected to a side rail of a fabric frame, such as theright side rail 104. The clamp 200 may also include an opening 218,which may be a circular opening, integrally defined between the firstarm 202 and the second arm 204 into which the cam 206 may be at leastpartially positioned to connect the cam 206 to the integrally formedfirst arm 202 and second arm 204 and to allow the cam 206 to be rotatedwith respect to the opening 218.

The clamp 200 may also include a hinge 230 integrally formed between thefirst arm 202 and the second arm 204 on either side of the opening 218.The hinge 230 may at least partially contribute to the bias of the firstlever surface 210 and the second lever surface 214 against the cam 206.The hinge 230 may further be configured to act as a pivot between thefirst clamping surface 208 and the first lever surface 210 and betweenthe second clamping surface 212 and the second lever surface 214.

The example clamps 200 may therefore be employed to detachably connectthe rear rail 108 to the fabric frame 100 during the mounting of thefabric 180 to the fabric frame 100, as disclosed in FIG. 1C. It isunderstood, however, that the clamps 200 are only one of a variety ofmeans for detachably connecting the rear rail 108 to the fabric frame100.

With reference again to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the fabric 180 may be mountedto the fabric frame 100 using a variety of mounting methods. One suchmounting method may include various steps. For example, the method mayinclude detaching the rear rail 108 from the clamps 200, therebydetaching the rear rail 108 from the fabric frame 100. Next, the methodmay include draping the fabric 180 over the left side rail 102, theright side rail 104, and the front rail 106. Then, the method mayinclude reconnecting the rear rail 108 by placing the rear rail 108 ontop of the fabric 180 (which may involve inserting the rear rail 108from the side into the throat of the sewing machine 150, and thereby notdisturbing the needle 156 or hopping foot 162 of the sewing machine),partially wrapping the fabric 180 up and around the rear surface of therear rail 108, and then pushing the rear rail 108 into the clamps 200.Next, the method may include pulling the fabric 180 tight on the fabricframe 100. Then, the method may include clamping the fabric 180 to theleft side rail 102, the right side rail 104, and the front rail 106 byplacing clamps 182 at various positions along the left side rail 102,the right side rail 104, and the front rail 106 in order to maintain anadequate tension on the fabric 180 during operation of the sewingmachine 150. Next, the method may include clamping the portion of thefabric 180 that is positioned near the rear rail 108 to the rear rail108 using clamps 184, in order to stow this portion of the fabric 180out of the way of the working area 118 and out of the way of the sewingmachine 150. It is noted that this example method of mounting the fabric180 to the fabric frame 100 enables the fabric 180 to be stretchedtightly against all four rails 102-108 of the fabric frame 100. Inparticular, the fabric 180 may be stretched tightly in straight linesagainst upper surfaces of the left side rail 102, the right side rail104, and the front rail 106, while at the same time being stretchedtightly in a straight line against a lower surface of the rear rail 108.

Once the fabric 180 is mounted to the fabric frame 100 with an adequatetension, a user may grasp the handlebars 158 or the handlebars 160 andmaneuver the sewing machine 150 laterally and longitudinally, asdiscussed above, in order to cause the needle 156, in combination withthe hopping foot 162, to form even and precisely positioned rows ofstiches in the fabric 180 anywhere within the working area 118 of thefabric frame 100. In addition, even though the example fabric frame 100may have relatively small dimensions, such as about 5 feet wide (i.e.,about 5 feet in the x dimension) by about 3 feet deep (i.e., about 3feet in the x dimension), and thus be sized to fit in a relatively smallroom, the fabric frame 100 may be configured to accommodate fabric 180that is relatively large, such as fabric 180 that is about 8.2 feet wideby about 8.5 feet long that is designed to be quilted into a quilt for aCalifornia king size bed. Further, the example fabric frame 100 may berelatively inexpensive to manufacture due to the relative simplicity ofthe fabric frame 100.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the exampleembodiments and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furtheringthe art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to suchspecifically-recited examples and conditions.

1. A fabric frame for a maneuverable sewing machine, the fabric framecomprising: a left side rail; a right side rail; a front railpermanently connected to the left side and right side rails; and a rearrail detachably connectable to the left side and right side rails,wherein the left side, right side, front, and rear rails define leftside, right side, front, and rear boundaries, respectively, of a workingarea; and wherein the left side, right side, front, and rear rails areconfigured to support one or more layers of fabric that flow from insidethe boundaries of the working area to outside the left side, right side,front, and rear boundaries of the working area.
 2. The fabric frame ofclaim 1, wherein the left side, right side, and front rails are fixed inplace and are not configured to rotate.
 3. The fabric frame of claim 1,wherein the left side, right side, and front rails have a smooth,cylindrical outer surface.
 4. The fabric frame of claim 1, wherein thefabric frame is supported above a table by only a single left side riserand only a single right side riser.
 5. The fabric frame of claim 1,wherein the rear rail is configured to support the one or more layers offabric that flow underneath the rear rail from inside the boundaries ofthe working area to outside the rear boundary of the working area. 6.The fabric frame of claim 5, further comprising: a left side clamppermanently connected to the left side rail; and a right side clamppermanently connected to the right side rail.
 7. The fabric frame ofclaim 6, wherein the rear rail is detachably connectable to the leftside and right side rails by clamping the rear rail in the left side andright side clamps.
 8. The fabric frame of claim 7, wherein each of theleft side clamp and the right side clamp includes: a first arm includinga first clamping surface and a first lever surface; a second armincluding a second clamping surface and a second lever surface; and acam positioned between the first lever surface and the second leversurface, the cam configured to be rotated against the first leversurface and the second lever surface in a first rotational direction tocause the first lever surface and the second lever surface to move apartfrom one another, which causes the first clamping surface and the secondclamping surface to move toward one another.
 9. The fabric frame ofclaim 8, wherein the cam of each of the left side clamp and the rightside clamp is further configured to be rotated against the first leversurface and the second lever surface in a second rotational direction toallow the first lever surface and the second lever surface to movetoward one another, which allows the first clamping surface and thesecond clamping surface to move apart from one another.
 10. The fabricframe of claim 9, wherein: each cam is a stepped cam that includesmultiple stepped surfaces; and each of the stepped surfaces is indexedto one of multiple distinct distances between the first clamping surfaceand the second clamping surface.
 11. A fabric frame for a maneuverablesewing machine, the fabric frame comprising: a left side rail; a rightside rail; a front rail connected to the left side and right side fixedrails; and a rear rail connected to the left side and right side fixedrails, wherein the left side, right side, front, and rear rails defineleft side, right side, front, and rear boundaries, respectively, of aworking area; wherein the left side, right side, and front rails areconfigured to support one or more layers of fabric that flow over uppersurfaces of the left side, right side, and front rails from inside theboundaries of the working area to outside the left side, right side, andfront boundaries of the working area; and wherein the rear rail isconfigured to support the one or more layers of fabric that flowunderneath the rear rail from inside the boundaries of the working areato outside the rear boundary of the working area.
 12. The fabric frameof claim 11, wherein the left side, right side, and front rails arefixed in place and are not configured to rotate.
 13. The fabric frame ofclaim 11, wherein the left side, right side, and front rails have asmooth, cylindrical outer surface.
 14. The fabric frame of claim 11,wherein the fabric frame is supported above a table by only a singleriser.
 15. The fabric frame of claim 11, wherein: the front rail ispermanently connected to the left side and right side rails; and therear rail is detachably connected to the left side and right side rails.16. The fabric frame of claim 15, further comprising: a left side clamppermanently connected to the left side rail; and a right side clamppermanently connected to the right side rail.
 17. The fabric frame ofclaim 16, wherein the rear rail is detachably connectable to the leftside and right side rails by clamping the rear rail in the left side andright side clamps.
 18. The fabric frame of claim 16, wherein each of theleft side clamp and the right side clamp includes: a first arm includinga first clamping surface and a first lever surface; a second armintegrally formed with the first arm, the second arm including a secondclamping surface, a second lever surface, and a frame mount permanentlyconnected to the respective side rail; an opening integrally definedbetween the first arm and the second arm; and a cam knob at leastpartially positioned in the opening such that the cam knob is configuredto be rotated with respect to the opening, the cam knob having a steppedcam surface positioned between the first lever surface and the secondlever surface, the cam knob configured: to be rotated in a firstrotational direction, which causes the stepped cam surface to rotateagainst the first lever surface and the second lever surface, whichcauses the first lever surface and the second lever surface to moveapart from one another, which causes the first clamping surface and thesecond clamping surface to move toward one another; and to be rotated ina second rotational direction, which causes the stepped cam surface torotate against the first lever surface and the second lever surface,which allows the first lever surface and the second lever surface tomove toward one another, which allows the first clamping surface and thesecond clamping surface to move apart from one another.
 19. The fabricframe of claim 18, wherein the cam of each of the left side clamp andthe right side clamp is further configured with: the first clampingsurface being curved; the second clamping surface being curved; and thefirst clamping surface and the second clamping surface being configuredto clamp onto the one or more layers of fabric after being wrappedaround the rear rail.
 20. The fabric frame of claim 19, wherein: eachstepped cam surface includes multiple stepped surfaces; and each of thestepped surfaces is indexed to one of multiple distinct distancesbetween the first clamping surface and the second clamping surface,which enables multiple distinct thicknesses of the one or more layers offabric to be wrapped around the rear rail of the quilting frame and tobe securely clamped in the corresponding clamp.